Summit Student Leaps Towards College Education

Written by high school Sophomore and Bentonville Summit Student, Elyssa Henry. Elyssa has attended Camp War Eagle for four summers and actively participates in Ozone! She has fantastic basketball and guitar skills, along with a friendly and warm personality!

Elyssa on campus.

This summer CWE 365 high school students had the chance to participate in a college preparation class through Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) at the Jones Center. The class gave us a look into what college looks like, how to apply and some expectations to have. I can't say I had planned on looking into NWACC for college, I have always considered going to College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO. When I first heard about the opportunity to learn about college, I didn’t know much about what to expect, so I thought it would be good to go and check it out. The first couple of meetings we talked about how to figure out what we might be interested in majoring in and how to pursue a career plan. I decided I'd like to consider majoring in Digital Media. Then came the fun and unexpected announcement: We were going to go to NWACC for a tour! We visited the Communication Arts classes, the Student Center, the EMI and Nursing Building and other neat places! Then Jamie, the NWACC representative, gave us some information on what NWACC had to offer students and how to apply if we were interested.
I got home that afternoon I decided to check out NWACC’s website out of curiosity. I was shocked to see how many opportunities they offer for a Concurrent student (a student who is in High-school, but wants to earn college credit). I saw three classes I was interested in. I talked to my parents about it and  signed up to take the COMPASS college entrance test three days later, scoring well enough to start classes! I signed up for English Comp 1, a class every college student must take, and Music Appreciation. By taking these I will earn 6 college credits and be on campus Monday-Friday mornings!
I started class on August 20^th and can honestly say this has started a journey that will shape my future. I definitely enjoy every minute of the classes! I am still hoping to go to College of the Ozarks someday and dive further into my degree, but by taking English comp 1 now, I won’t have to take it at College of the Ozarks, and Music Appreciation counts as a Fine Arts credit. The tour and college prep class really opened a door to begin my college career right here and now. I am truly blessed to get this amazing educational opportunity through the partnership of CWE365 and Northwest Arkansas Community College!